The company has experienced a 14% drop in group net fees, with its temporary provision down 10% and permanent down 20%. Hays said its September exit rate was in line with the quarter overall.

Highlights of its Q1 FY 2025 trading up were:

• Consultant productivity up 5% year-on-year (YoY)
• Consultant headcount reduced by 2% in the quarter and by 18% YoY
• Initiatives to deliver structural savings of £30m per annum by the end of FY27 are “progressing”
• Germany: fees down 13%, with temporary & contracting business down 12%. Perm fees were down 17%
• UK & Ireland: fees down 20%, with temp down 16% and perm down 26%.
• Australia & New Zealand: fees were down 20%, with temp down 13% and perm down 32%. 
• Rest of World: fees down 9% with activity stable through the quarter. In EMEA excluding Germany, fees declined by 11%, Asia was down 10% and the Americas down 2%.

Hays said: “We continued to manage our consultant capacity on a business-line basis and, despite tougher markets, our actions drove a 5% YoY improvement in average consultant productivity… We believe our consultant headcount capacity is appropriate for current market conditions and expect this will remain broadly stable in Q2 25. Our focus on business line prioritisation and optimal resource allocation will position Hays strongly for when end markets recover.”

The company also said that the 2025 financial year will benefit from the annualisation of about £60m cost savings secured last year and an initial contribution from the roughly £30m per annum structural savings it is targeting for by the end of FY27. “This programme is progressing well and, as a result of our actions, our current periodic cost base is slightly below £80m,” said the company statement.

At the end of September 2024, Hays had about 11,100 employees in 229 offices in 33 countries. In many of the company’s global markets, the “vast majority” of its professional and skilled recruitment is still done in-house, with minimal outsourcing to recruitment agencies. “This has been a key driver of the diversification and internationalisation of the group, with the International business representing 80% of the group’s net fees in Q1 FY25, compared with 25% in FY05,” the Hays statement said.

The company covers recruitment in 21 professional and skilled specialisms, with the four largest specialisms in technology (25% of group net fees), accountancy & finance (15%), engineering (11%) and construction & property (10%) collectively represented about 61% of group fees in FY24.

In this latest reporting period, the group’s net fees were generated 61% from temporary and 39% from permanent placement markets. 

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